I am happy with my Garmin 1030 and would buy it again.
With careful brightness adjustment and using the extend mode, I used to be able to get thru a 600k w/o a charge on a flatter course. Once I upgraded the FW in order to pair the Garmin Varia radar unit, my battery life is not as great. I generally never upgrade FW when I have a working product, but there was no choice if I wanted the radar protection. I now get only 16-17 hours now vs 25+ before. Coincidence? So, I carry a small lipstick battery on 400k and above.